The Lost Chapters: The forgotten Legends of Zelda

Destined: by Shiek

“Some do not want to face what has been laid before them. Destiny is hardly ever a pleasant thing, my child.”
The words of Kaepora Gaebora echoed through Lenore’s head as she waited inside the house of her second victim. Lenore had been around dead bodies for years, killing them couldn’t be much harder than digging a grave. Still, she found herself relying on Kaepora’s words, like she had for her last victim, Rauru.
Saria's neck would snap like a twig, Lenore was absolutely sure of it. She was just a little Kokiri child, and with the element of surprise on her side, there was no way that Saria could stop her, not even with the Spirits of the Forest on her side.
Kokiri's never feared robbery, murder, or anything of the sort. They felt so safe inside their quaint Kokiri houses that most didn't even have a door, or a lock, or anything to protect them. And they went to bed so early that slipping in unnoticed was a breeze, especially since the Deku Sapling wasn't powerful enough to sense any danger for his children.
Saria went to bed later than the others though. She was much more mature, and much more intelligent, so she stayed out late, talked with the Deku Sapling, or hid away in the Lost Woods. Lenore thought Saria was so mature that she had even considered for a moment sitting Saria down and explaining to her why she had to kill her. Maybe then she would go quietly. The only problem was is that if Saria would not go quietly then Lenore would find herself in a struggle like she was with Rauru. Though in all fairness, she never tried to sit him down to talk things out. But he should have been the only one prepared for it. He was the only one that could’ve known it was coming.
Footsteps. Lenore could hear Saria coming along the path. She pressed her back against the wall next to the door, pulling her grey cloak in tight so it wouldn’t give her away. Saria entered her home. She crossed the room to a table and reached for an unlit candle.
Lenore was so very quiet.
Snap.
Her assumption had been correct.

The night was warm, but Lenore couldn’t shake the awful chilled feeling surrounding her. It was terrible. Her shadow under the bright moon felt like a ghost trailing her, whispering to her the deeds she had done. Killing a grown man was one thing, but a child was different. It was harder to get out of your mind.
She had placed Saria’s tiny body inside of her bed, and had drawn the covers up around her tenderly. She did this almost motherly, as if she was trying to pretend that she was just lying a child down to sleep, and that Saria was still alive.
A chill went down Lenore’s spine as she heard the beating of wings in close proximity, she hadn’t noticed them when they were far off, she was too concentrated in her thoughts.
“Destiny is hardly ever a pleasant thing, my child,” whispered the old and wise bird.
“You’ve mentioned that before, Kaepora,” Lenore sighed.
“Would you like a lift home, little one? I’ve been searching the field for you for quite awhile,” Kaepora said lovingly.
“What for? It’s such a lovely night, and it’s not as if I would have any trouble defending myself, even if it was in the unlikely case that something should try to attack me.”
“I thought you might be exhausted, my dear. I know this isn’t a... pleasant thing,” Kaepora winced.
“Again you mentioned that. And anyway, are you kidding? Murdering children in their homes at night is one of my favorite pastimes,” Lenore said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Please... try to understand, it was not my intention to bestow this upon you,” Kaepora explained as he began to waddle next to Lenore, who had begun to walk away from him, “I’m just carrying out my destiny as well. Do you think that this is the life that I wanted for my only daughter?”
“I’m not your real daughter.” Lenore sneered, “I’m Dampé’s-”
“Lenore, please. Can’t we just go home?” Kaepora pleaded. Lenore begrudgingly climbed onto the old owl’s back, “Careful on the feathers this time dear, last time you pulled out quite a handful.”

“Now go, make up for lost time.”
Zelda had sent Link back as promised. It was twelve years ago that he had put the Master Sword to rest, and let his fairy fly away. After that, he had left so suddenly to find Navi that he didn’t even bother to return to his Kokiri home. He missed his friend dearly, and searching for her seemed top priority to him, but he never found her. Link returned sullen, but his spirits rose when he began talking to Saria again and he realized that it was not only him that knew what he had done in his alternate future. She had knowledge of The Chamber of Sages, of Ganon, and of what he had done. She was still a Sage, which meant that the rest of the Sages had the knowledge as well.
Link journeyed to Princess Zelda. He snuck past the guards, and approached the grey stone steps of the courtyard, like he had in a different time. She turned around and held a hand to her mouth as she gasped. Zelda rushed forward and embraced Link with the words, “I knew you wouldn’t forget me.”
They had been best friends. Link visited her every week, and they played together. As they grew older, Zelda’s father, the King, warmed up to Link. He began to trust him so much he even let him take Zelda to Lake Hylia to fish. Soon Link was staying over in a spare room, and running letters, and messages to other cities for the King. It was so simple for Link to be a wonderful diplomat because of his companionship with the other Sages of Hyrule. Even in the desert, Link was welcomed by Nabooru.
It was understandable that Link would fall so hard for Princess Zelda. As they aged, Zelda began looking more and more like the beautiful Princess that he had saved in another time. He approached the King, with a plea for Zelda’s hand in marriage. The King rejected him, saying that, while he respected Link, his daughter would never marry a boy raised in the Forest. It broke Link’s heart even more when Zelda agreed with her father.
Link had been miserable since then, and he hadn’t seen Zelda for two months. The last time he saw her was on his twenty-third birthday, when Zelda handed him a gift, a beautiful sword crafted to look like the Master Sword. Link now kept her gift under his bed, with no use for it, and no desire to see it and be reminded of her.
Link lay in bed, attempting to sleep. He wasn’t too upset anymore, it was easier to not be when he didn’t have to see Zelda. Out of sight, out of mind, had become his new mantra. But, even though he was better, did not mean h was cured. He sighed, at least he still had Saria. She had always been such a good friend to him.

Lenore slid off of Kaepora’s back and on to the cobblestones of Kakariko’s graveyard. She lived in Dampé’s old shack, and Kaepora slept on a perch on the roof. He was much too big for such a small dwelling.
“I’m going to water the roses. It’s best to do it at night, in the day the sun will dry them all up,” Lenore said, grabbing her watering can from the side of the house.
Kaepora nodded and flew up to his perch, “Goodnight Lenore.”
He watched his pride and joy stride off. He knew how different they were, but he loved her so much anyway. She reminded him of the daughter he had when he had still been alive, and a human. His true daughter was long dead now, but Lenore reflected something so similar. He just wanted to see her happy, and he couldn’t wait for her ordeal to be over, it seemed like it had started from the moment she was born.
Her mother was never a prize choice for parenting, she was an unscrupulous women, and known throughout Hyrule Market as a harlot. Kaepora never even knew her name, all he knew is that she wandered over to Kakariko Village, and met Dampé. Needless to say, Lenore was born nine months later, and her mother was back to living in Hyrule Market.
Lenore was going to die, Kaepora knew of her even before she was born, and what would happen if he did not keep her alive. Kaepora flew to the alley in which Lenore was born and found her mother lying dead. Even with medical assistance, many women died giving birth in those times, so it was not surprising that a woman lying in an alley didn’t survive. Cutting the umbilical cord with his beak, and finding something to wrap the baby in was no easy task, but trying to carry her without hurting her was even more difficult.
Kaepora knew that for the first few months, he could not raise her on his own. The difference between claws and opposable thumbs was too great. Instead he brought Lenore to the only person he thought could help him; he brought her to Dampé.
Dampé was not as reluctant as Kaepora had first thought he would be. Under his gruesome exterior lay a gentle soul that was not as wretched as his form had become after years of labor. He was a good father, and he loved his daughter. Kaepora decided to stay around anyway, and Dampé built him his perch on the roof of the house.
They were happy for a grand total of five years, until Dampé died.
Lenore was a medium built girl, with medium brown hair kept short and choppy. Her eyes were an earthen, mossy green, her lips were thick, her skin was a creamy olive color, and her was face round. She wore a pale blue sleeveless shirt, and light grey pants with a brown leather belt. With her grey cloak on, Lenore was almost invisible in such a dark as she walked towards Kakariko’s well.
Lenore had planted roses so they could be purchased for funerals. She also carved the headstones and dug the graves. The graveyard in Kakariko was the only proper and dignified graveyard in Hyrule, so it was not rare for creatures like Zoras, or even Gorons to be brought there for burial. She had always thought it sick that the abhorrent destiny she was chosen for helped her family business so well; often times she wanted out of it, because she felt so horrible, but she wasn’t qualified for any other jobs.
Lenore carried her watering can to the well to fill it up. The town was quiet and she saw no one else out nor any candles burning in houses. As she filled up the can she kept thinking more and more about Saria and what she had done. By the time she brought the watering can back to the side of her house she was crying, and holding back sobs. A few choked whimpers slipped through the grit of her teeth and Kaepora opened an eye to look upon Lenore.
Kaepora left his perch and flapped his way gently to the ground. Lenore dropped the can and it fell onto it’s side, letting all the water spill out as Kaepora lifted up his huge wing and pull her in for the closest thing he could manage to being a hug.
“Lenore... have I ever told you what happened to me? How I died?” Kaepora asked quietly.
Lenore groaned a small, “No...”
Kaepora continued, “I used to live in the woods. I was a Hylian, and I didn’t live with the Kokiri, I lived just off the edge of their forest though. I was the Sage of the Forest when I was alive. I did the same thing as the Sages did today, I defended Hyrule in my own element. When I was a Sage it was during a time of peace, so I had a family; a wife, and one daughter with dark brown hair the same as yours. As time passed something was looming over Hyrule, a great evil. They sent out a Messenger of Death, to do the work of the Goddesses. He was a good lad, he was not evil, he was not cruel by nature, he was simply chosen for this task. Your job is the same as his was. He went around, and one by one killed the Sages of that time. I died second. I struggled to stay alive for my family, and it was only after I died that I learned what had happened.
“The evil that was approaching was not something my Sages could stop. When we died, other Sages were born, one for each of our elements, and they all inherited our respective powers, that, along with their own spirits, made their powers greater than ours, and able to stop what lied ahead. The Sages that succeeded my Sages were then also killed to increase the power of the next line of Sages. You see, the evil that is in this land is always greater than that which came before it. Therefore, the good in this land must also be greater than that which came before it.” Kaepora explained. He took his wing from around Lenore’s shoulder and stepped back to look into her red, tear-filled eyes, “Destiny is not pleasant for anybody. Even now the greatest hero of our time suffers, waiting until another need for him arises. And chances are, it might not even be in his lifetime. But he was born to take our tragedies upon himself. He’s just like you, his sorrows benefit the world around him.”
Lenore fell backward a few paces, her eyes wandering to the stone path below her, “So, I am just a Messenger of Death? A tool for the Goddesses? Why can’t they just do it themselves?” She asked with a tone that betrayed very little anger for what was going on in her head.
“A hundred years is a blink of an eye to them. They made a very careful map before they departed for the heavens, exhausted from their work, and your very name is on this map. They handed this world over to us to let us do what we will with it.” Kaepora nodded.
“So why not let the tides go where they will if this was “handed” over to us? Why the need for us, or the Hero of Time?”
“My dear, that’s harder to explain... darkness, it can flourish on its own, it grows stronger so very easily and nothing would need to help the evil it the world have a fair chance at fighting... but light, that is harder to cultivate and raise. It flickers back and forth because of the creatures with the power of thought. How easily we can be swayed, and how easily we can learn to ignore everything in the world except for ourselves... We’re here to give the light a fair chance. To help the cause that at least one candle can stay lit in such a dark, dark world,” Kaepora exhaled deeply, giving Lenore another quick hug.
Lenore wiped her eyes and bent over, reaching for the watering can once more, “I really need to water the roses before I go to bed.” She said somberly as she turned away from Kaepora.
Kaepora sighed sympathetically, “Please, try not to think about what’s been done. They people you’ve passed on aren’t really gone. They’ll learn what has happened to them, and they’ll be reincarnated. Perhaps they won’t be a talking beast such as myself, but all the better for them. I wouldn’t wish the life of a Goddess’s Messenger upon anybody. Please don’t worry though, you need a good sleep tonight. I know it’s already quite late, but you need to be well rested for tomorrow.” Kaepora flew back to his perch.
Lenore stopped on the path and turned back towards Kaepora, “Why?” She asked, although she already knew the answer.
“I’ll be taking you up to Death Mountain...”

Dawn did not wake Lenore. In fact, she slept far past dawn and into the early afternoon. A few knocks upon the door of her shack rose her from her bed.
She yawned and stretched, taking a quick peek out her window at the position of the sun that was now far up in the sky, “Kaepora, how could you let me sleep this late? It’s almost noon.” Lenore went to her door in the long black shirt that she slept in, “We have to leave real soon so I’ll try to get ready-” Lenore stopped in mid-sentence as she opened her front door and saw a tall, not to mention handsome, Hylian man standing there, instead of the great owl, “Oh, excuse me, I’ll be out in a moment,” Lenore quickly said, blushing and closing the door. She rushed to change into her daily clothes and opened the door once more, “I’m sorry, sir. My name is Lenore, the keeper of this graveyard. What can I do for you?”
“My name is Link,” He bowed, “I need to have someone buried.”
“That’s what most people come here for,” Lenore sighed, “What sort of tombstone do you want? Small, large, a fancy one or a plain one?”
“Something medium, with a design carved in it.” Link answered solemnly.
“What sort of design?”
“A tree. A full grown tree.”
“I can do that. Will you be wanting roses?”
“Yes, please. Two dozen.”
“What size coffin?”
“Child sized.”
“And... may I ask for something special?” Link asked, his eyes full of sadness.
“Of course.”
“Can she be buried in the forest?”
“Sure. That’s no problem. It’ll be extra because I’ll need to rent a horse.”
“That’s fine.” Link nodded, “I want her to be in the forest.”
“Okay... hmm...” Lenore calculated the cost in her head, “That’ll cost you... hey wait, what did you want written on the tombstone? Depending on how much I have to write, I might have to charge more.”
“Saria, Of The Kokiri, Lived and Died in the Forest.”
Lenore struggled to keep composure, “Sa...ria?”
“Yes. S - A - R - I - A.” Link spelled out the name for her, “Are you well learned? Can you spell the rest properly.”
“Uhm... yes... I’ll be fine... w-when do you want the funeral to be? I-I have nothing scheduled as of today... I’ll need to come up early in the morning the day of the funeral, to dig... a-and to fix up the tombstone and flowers.” Lenore stuttered, she began to feel dizzy.
“Would three days from now be okay? That will give me time to inform the Kokiri, and find others to speak for her. I won’t be at peace until she’s at rest.” Link said, almost whispered.
“Okay. Sure... I can do that...” Lenore wanted to die at that very moment, she felt even worse than she had when she was killing Saria, “The price... will be... f-four hundred rupees,” Link drew forth his rupee pouch and paid in silver rupees. Lenore’s eyes grew wide, the most she had ever seen before was a purple rupee, How about I show up at... say, sunrise.”
This was terrible. Being paid by someone for killing their best friend.
“Sure. I’ll meet you at the entrance of the forest three days from now at sunrise. I won’t be late, but I do not mind if you are. I realize it’s quite a journey,” Link bowed respectfully and exited the graveyard.
Lenore kicked angrily at a few shovels leaned up again the exterior of her shack and they clattered against the pavement. She grabbed her chisel and hammer from her chest of tools at the side of the house and went around to the back of her home to begin working on Saria’s grave.

Kaepora Gaebora landed on the cobblestone path outside of Lenore’s shack. He heard the tapping of her hammer, and waddled around back.
“Where were you?” Lenore said, taking off her crude goggles and looking at the great bird with a hint of frustration.
“I was off getting breakfast. I figured I’d let you sleep for a while.” Kaepora said, not understanding why she seemed so upset.
“Guess who came to my doorstep today. Guess who woke me up. Just guess.” Lenore said, flustered.
Kaepora thought for a moment, “I’ve no idea.”
Lenore threw down her tools in aggravation, “A young Hylian that said he was from the forest. Coming to me so I could bury Saria.”
“Hylian...?” Kaepora asked fearfully, “His name wasn’t Link was it?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Oh my...” Kaepora gasped, “Lenore, you just met the Hero of Time. The sages are his companions... Saria has known him since his birth, Darunia is his Sworn Brother, Ruto was engaged to him.”
“Is this one of those tragedies that he’s been cursed with?” Lenore mumbled, “I mean, me. Am I meant to be one his tragedies?”
“Not all heros are such good friends with the Sages as he is.”
“Damn perfect,” Lenore cursed.
“We still need to go up to Death Mountain today. Eat a quick breakfast and bring weapons. You’ll need them. Darunia will be quite a challenge. He isn’t an old man, or a small girl.” Kaepora said, trying to change the subject.
“I know you don’t mean to... but you say some of the most insensitive things sometimes, you know.”

Lenore had her hammer and chisel tucked into her belt, and her shovel balanced on her knees as she gripped Kaepora’s feathers. Death Mountain loomed in front of her, appearing so very threatening. Kaepora flew into the shadow of the mountain, sending a chill down her spine.
Kaepora landed on a ledge where a gigantic Goron was slumbering. Lenore climbed off of his back and stared in wonder at the massive beast snoring next to her.
“That’s Biggoron. He’s a master blacksmith, he’s created some of the best and strongest swords in this world. But he’s still jealous of the Master Sword, and he wants to be able to create a sword that bests it. Unfortunately he goes to sleep after the volcano erupts so that he can sleep away the pain in his eyes. They get irritated in the blast so he spends most of his time asleep because of the frequency of the eruptions.” Kaepora explained to her.
“I imagine his swords are quite large...”
“Large, but quite powerful. Next to the Master Sword, there’s nothing better than a Biggoron sword.” Kaepora nodded. He pointed a wing to a cave dug out in the mountainside, Lenore could see a bright red light pulsing from inside the cave, “That is the back entrance to Darunia’s room. It is terribly hot... you must move quickly, or you’ll be done for. When you enter, turn right and jump down to the next ledge. Then find the bridge, it should be fixed by now, and go across it. Straight ahead will be the exit.”
“You want me to go inside an active volcano?” Lenore asked skeptically.
“You’ll be fine if you move quick enough.” Kaepora assured her, “If you’re lucky you’ll get there when Darunia is out eating lunch, then you can have more surprise when he returns.”
“Alright. If you say so.” Lenore agreed shrugging her shoulders, “Wish me luck.”
Kaepora nodded, “Good luck.”
Lenore ran around the sleeping Biggoron and descended steps into the cave.
The heat was unbearable. A sweltering, oppressive heat that made running intolerable; Lenore’s speed was dulled to a ragged trot. She spied the ledge, and without even looking over it to see where the next ledge was, she gathered her energy into sluggish jog and jumped with all the intensity that she could muster, still holding her shovel in one hand. Lenore landed on her ribs hanging half way off of a cliff positioned over a lake of boiling magma. She lifted up her shovel and stabbed it into the ground and tried to use it to her pull her weight up. Lenore struggled up onto her elbows, and began trying to lift her left leg up onto the ledge, or at least on a protruding rock on the cliff side. Lenore carefully reached down with her free hand and grabbed the hammer from her belt. Lenore thrust the pointed tip of it into the ground, and climbed wearily onto the ledge.
Taking no time to rest, Lenore climbed to her feet, and returned her hammer to her belt. Using her shovel to aid her movement, Lenore pressed on, heading towards the wooden bridge. It wouldn’t have bothered her, the fact that the bridge was swinging over lava, if not for the fact that there were no hand rails. Lenore started across the bridge anyway, feeling great relief as she looked ahead and saw that it was in fact a complete bridge.
Lenore entered in the dark hall that Kaepora assured her would lead to Darunia’s room. At the end of the hall was a small glimmer of light, and as Lenore neared the light, she could feel a small breeze coming through. Lenore reached the end of the hall and pushed on what she though was a door and to her displeasure, found that it didn’t budge. She felt around urgently for a handle, or a knob, or something but there was nothing. Nothing but a solid wall with cracks of light that teased and taunted her endlessly. Lenore shoved against the wall pressing her shoulder into it and pushing forward with her feet, but her boots just slid across the rock floor.
Lenore felt absolutely wretched. Anymore torment and she’d be dead. In a final desperate attempt, Lenore jammed her shovel into the crack in the wall. With a ragged and agonizing grunt, Lenore threw her weight into the shovel’s handle. She collapsed against the wall, and slid down to her knees, but it had worked. The crack grew larger. Lenore fit her shovel into the crack again, but this time pulled in the opposite direction, putting one foot against the wall that was slowly scooting away from her to gain balance.
Lenore pushed herself through the split in the wall. She was stuck for only a moment but pushed herself forward stubbornly, and stumbled out of the blistering heat into cool air. The air was in fact cool compared to the heat and humidity of the volcano, but it became apparent very quickly that this air wasn’t much better quality; it was stale and dank, and none to pleasant.
The room was nothing more than a small box with a high ceiling. Two tables lined the left wall, flags with the basic Goron symbol hung across the room, two torches graced the area with light, and beige a patterned carpet sat on the floor. Lenore realized that the “wall” she had just come out of was actually a great stone statue with a crude Goron etched into it’s surface and decorative spears sticking out of the sides.
It was lucky that no one was presently in the room, or she’d have been dead already. With time to prepare, Lenore stuck her shovel in the ground so she could picked up the carpet off of the floor. The rug was more like a blanket than carpet; it was not thick or well stitched at all, which would suit Lenore’s needs even better at the moment. As Lenore collected the rug into her arms, she heard a terribly loud grinding noise. The awful grate of stone again stone. Darunia was opening his chamber. She pressed her back against the wall directly next to the entrance. She heard the stone slide shut again, and Darunia’s great footsteps tromping down the hall.
Darunia stepped into view. As he began to turn, caught unawares by Lenore’s presence, Lenore threw the carpet over his head, and promptly grabbed the shovel from the ground. She swung the shovel with two hands and struck Darunia in the head with the broad side of the tool. Darunia stumbled back against the wall, and pulled the blanket off of his head just in time to see Lenore’s shovel hammer into his temple once again.
Darunia threw the blanket at Lenore. She held up her shovel and caught it in the air, knocking it away from her. While she was distracted, Darunia aimed a punch and struck Lenore’s shoulder, sending her flying back and crumpling on top of one of the tables against the wall. Darunia jumped across the room to the Goron statue and snapped off one of the spears. As he charged towards Lenore, she brandished her sharpened chisel from her belt and flicked it expertly at angered Goron. It struck his shoulder and buried deep into his flesh, but he ignored it and kept moving.
Lenore rolled off of the table, grabbing her hammer as she fell, and struck Darunia in the shin leaving the hammer dangling from his leg. Darunia roared in pain, and stabbed down at Lenore with the spear. She rolled backwards quickly, avoiding the sharp point as it stabbed into the ground she had once laid upon.
With her shovel still in hand, Lenore dashed passed the corner Darunia had almost trapped her in. The great Goron whirled around and charged again, this time wielding the broken spear like a bat. At the last second before Darunia swung, Lenore held her shovel tightly and impaled it into his stomach. Darunia dropped the spear, and stumbled backwards, freeing the shovel from his gut and leaving an open gash. Blood gushed from the wounds upon his leg, shoulder and abdomen. As he stood in shock, Lenore bounded forward, and swung her shovel with all of her might. The shovel struck him in the side of the head and ploughed into his skull. Darunia collapsed onto his side on the floor, blood streaming down his head, chest and legs.
Lenore sucked in great gulps of air and nursed her ribs as she fell crumbled into a sitting position. She held her shoulder and rotated her arm around on it’s axis, it felt awful to move, she could already see the immense bruises forming that would soon take up her whole shoulder. She sat for awhile, getting used to the ache of her ribs before standing up, and pulling her weapons free from Darunia’s body.
She abhorred the thought of going back into the volcano, but she was positive she could not move the stone door, and she did not want to be spotted by other Gorons. This way, it would take days before they even knew Darunia was dead.

Lenore and Kaepora returned home to nurse her wounds. She felt shaken from the fight. If she had moved a split second slower than she had she would have been dead, for sure. Never had she ever been in a fight where the odds were that stacked against her. Even if the one punch that had hit her had struck a little higher, she could have died. And surely if another blow had reached her, even just another punch to the shoulder, she would have been crippled, her ribs shattered.. With these thoughts in her mind, and the pain in her body, Lenore persistently worked on Saria’s grave.
“Tomorrow is both Ruto and Impa,” Kaepora nodded gravely, “Ruto will take a small journey, but I know Impa won’t be difficult to find.”
Impa still lived in Kakariko in a house near the entrance to the graveyard. She frequented the graveyard to meditate in the Shadow Temple and to visit the graves. She often admired Lenore work with tombstones even. How ironic. This would be so different than the killings that had come before. This wasn’t about killing a stranger for a cause, it was about killing a friend for a cause. Fighting Darunia would probably prove easier than killing Impa.

The trip to Zora’s Domain had actually been somewhat relaxing, Lenore brought only her hammer and chisel with her and felt less tense than the day before. Her shoulder still ached, but a Zoran Princess did not threaten her at all.
While flying over Zora’s Fountain, Kaepora spotted Ruto reading a book on the river’s bank. After scanning the area and becoming confident in the fact that no one was around, he dropped Lenore off around a bend where Ruto could not see her. Lenore crept up behind Ruto and attempted to snap her neck, but the Zora’s slippery skin made Lenore’s hands slide right off. A small struggle followed. But in the end, Princess Ruto’s body was floating downstream with blood flowing liberally from her pierced heart.
Later in the evening, Lenore circled Impa’s house making sure that only Impa was home. Lenore knocked on the door and Impa invited her in. After some idle conversation, Impa took notice of Lenore’s shovel.
“Lenore... why are you carrying that shovel?” Impa asked cautiously.
With her head down and tears glimmering in her eyes, Lenore whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
Impa was killed as gently as Lenore felt possible. She had knocked her unconscious with her shovel, and quickly cut off her head in one fluid chop. She felt better having done this, in hopes that Impa felt as little pain as possible.
She finished the tree on Saria’s grave that day.
She did not speak to Kaepora once.
When she finally retired to bed, she cried all night until sleep seized her weary body.
A sharp tap upon the door of her shack woke Lenore the next morning. She began changing into her clothes just incase it was another customer at the door. While she was buckling her belt she heard a few more sharp taps.
“Lenore!” The muffles voice of Kaepora Gaebora called through the door, “Are you awake?”
“Coming...” Lenore called back as she hopped towards the door as she tried to pull on her boots. Lenore opened the door, still pulling on her last boot, “Yes?”
“Good morning dear,” Kaepora said gently, “I brought you some bread from the inn. I know how you like their’s better than from the bakery. Even though I don’t understand why.”
Kaepora passed his beige satchel from his talon to her hands. Lenore removed the bread from out of the bag and took a large bite, as she chewed she looked down in the satchel and noticed a light brown piece of paper, “Whazzat?” Lenore asked through a mouthful of bread.
“Take it out and look at it,” Lenore obliged, and Kaepora continued, “It’s a Gerudo membership card. You won’t get very far in the desert without one of those. If they ask more about you, just tell them you’re a new member from Hyrule Market. Just make up something believable.”
“How did you get it?” Lenore asked after swallowing her food.
“I have my ways,” Kaepora winked, “A Geurdo woman lives on the far west side of town. She stays indoors mostly, except she’ll occasionally come out at night. She was tired of the Gerudo lifestyle, so she came to Kakariko and married. She stays in hiding though because she’s afraid she won’t be accepted. I spotted her once before at night, and in exchange for telling no one about her, she gave me her old membership card.”
“But you just told me.” Lenore blinked.
“Eh heh... You don’t count.”

The emptiness of the desert was someone disturbing. Reddish brown sand covered everything, and the sun beat down without mercy, but to Lenore the desert felt like a cool breeze in comparison to the active volcano she had been in two days prior. She did wish that she didn’t have to wear her dark grey cloak though, but she didn’t want her weapons to be apparent.
Kaepora began his decent when they spotted a small fountain of water. The water spouted from a crack in a cliff side, and filled a small pond. There was no place for the pond to empty, so Lenore assumed that the sun dried it up at such a fast rate, it didn’t need a place to drain.
Lenore slid off of Kaepora’s back and rushed to the water side. She threw back her hood, and spooned the water into her mouth with her hands cupped. Kaepora too leaned down and sucked in the cool water glad to be under a little shade.
“I’ll fly you over the bridge. They broke it so they wouldn’t have to stand guard all of the time.” Kaepora explained.
“Then how do they get out of the desert?” Lenore asked.
“Most don’t. The only way they can is through the canyon, which meant certain death for the few that jumped.” Kaepora said grimly.
“Is it really that deep? I couldn’t see it very well with all of these cliffs around.”
“Go see for yourself,” Kaepora said pointing a wing to the canyon.
Lenore walked up the thick wooden plank that led to the next ledge above the little pond. As she carefully neared the edge of the canyon she heard the roaring falls gushing water, when she looked down, her eyes grew wide at how unbelievably deep the chasm was and how much water ran through it. “Amazing isn’t it?” Kaepora said as he waddled towards the edge.
“It’s incredible.”
“You should see this place when the sun is setting. It shimmers,” Kaepora smiled.
“I’ll bet,” Lenore nodded, her eyes still wide.
“I promise I’ll bring you here during sunset someday.”

Getting to Nabooru might be easier than Lenore had thought. Granted, security was tight, but because of the membership she had, the guards treated her with respect, even joked around with her.
Her story had been that she was a runaway from Hyrule Market, and that Nabooru had told her to come back to the fortress after spending a night in the desert alone, she had to come back to Nabooru alive to have her membership fully approved, but was given it early so she could walk back into the fortress without worry.
When asked where Nabooru was, the guards answered that she was in the highest levels of the fortress, and they could see her if Lenore could find a way up there without getting lost. Lenore took that as a challenge, but knew that she would in fact get lost inside of the labyrinthian building if she entered. Instead she rubbed her hands together and walked up the hill that led to the first level of the fortress.
The guards began laughing as they watched Lenore begin to climb. She used vines, windows, and cracks in the rocks for footholds or handholds. The guards down below virtually exploded with laughter as she slipped on her way up one wall back onto the ledge under her, but she simply stood up, brushed off her cloak and began climbing again. Though the guards taunted and teased her, they still were in awe at the newcomers audacity, having no fear of her whatsoever. They seemed to have forgotten that women can be distrusted as well as men.
“It’s the door in the middle!” One guard called, “The highest door right in the center!”
Lenore waved back down a yelled, “Thanks!” Feeling so comfortable that she forgot for a moment that she wasn’t stopping by for tea. She climbed to the appropriate ledge and entered the wide open doorway.
After leaving the bright sunlight, and going into a darkened hall, Lenore had trouble seeing. Dim torches hung on the wall, but unfortunately, they were too spaced out to do a lot of good, especially with the spots from the sun still linger in her vision. She pulled her hood off of her head and continued down the hall anyway, unabated. It soon became apparent to Lenore, that perhaps one of the guards had mislead her as a joke. The hallway seemed ridiculously long, and the passage must have cut deep into the mountains in order to stretch back as far as it did. It would be a pretty elaborate farce, what else could be down here if not for Nabooru? As she looked forward it seemed as if the torches stopped in the hallway after one point. As she neared these torches, she realized that the torches stopped, because the hallway stopped. Two guards came into view under the dim light of the torches, sitting in front of a big black door and playing cards, their halberds leaned carelessly up against the wall.
“I’m here to see Nabooru.” Lenore said, bowing.
“Membership, please.” One of the guards said, holding out her hand without even looking up at Lenore. She drew her hoax membership from beneath her cloak, and placed it in the Gerudo’s palm. The guard examined it, and handed it back, “What’s your reason?”
“She sent for me to come after I had spent a night alone in the desert.” Lenore answered.
“Oh, go in.”
Lenore stepped over the guards’ card game, and pushed open the large black doors.
The inside of this chamber smelled dank, and musty, water dripped into an iron pot in the corner of the dimly lit room. The only source of light was a small oil lamp placed upon a desk at which sat Nabooru scrawling away on a parchment with a feathered ink pen.
“Yes?” Asked Nabooru, not even glancing up from her work.
Lenore neared Nabooru slowly, drawing forth her hammer from her cloak, it was the only weapon she had brought. Lenore crept up behind Nabooru, and raised the tool high above her head. Nabooru turned as the hammer swung down and reacted quickly. She grabbed Lenore’s arm and threw her backwards, falling out of her chair in the process, but still sending Lenore tumbling across the stone floor.
Nabooru stood up calmly and reached into her desk as Lenore scrambled to get back on her feet as blood flowed from a gash across the side of her forehead. The Gerudo leader drew forth a vicious dagger from her desk drawer, one that looked particularly brutal with jagged edges down one side and a slick, clean edge on the other. All the while, Nabooru held a face that look surprisingly calm, “I was forewarned about you,” She said, “A Profit amongst my girls told me of a young woman who would come to steal my life. She gave me no reason why I was to be killed, but only told me that I would be killed by a grave keeper’s daughter. She told me I was supposed to lose.”
“Do you plan on doing that? Or do you intend to win?” Lenore asked, removing her hood.
“You are not deformed like the grave keeper. Your mother must have been beautiful,” Nabooru stalled as she admired Lenore’s soft features in the dim light.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Lenore shrugged.
“I’m sure she was,” Nabooru nodded and then paused, sitting back down at her desk, still facing Lenore, “I will not attempt to challenge fate, because I know that I will be taken care of in the afterlife, although I don’t deserve it. But because of my luck, I don’t fear dying.”
“So you will go quietly?” Lenore questioned.
“I will... if you let me finish my letter,” Nabooru said motioning with her dagger to the parchment, “I want to leave a letter to my darling girls.”
Lenore bowed and retreated to the wall opposite Nabooru. She sat down patiently, and listened to the few whimpers of Nabooru as she tried to hold back tears as she wrote.
After a few minutes had passed, Nabooru stood and turned to face Lenore, “There is no honor amongst thieves. This is the most I could have asked for in my passing.”
“You’re not like the stories portray you, Nabooru,” Lenore said, not wanting to stand up and do what she had come there to do, “You’re much more calm. You’re not maniacal at all. But I’m sure you’re just as good of a fighter as people have said.”
“Yes,” Nabooru said with a weak smile, “I have had some time to think about this, and I almost chose to fight, but that would be selfish of me. This is best. I get to say goodbye to my girls, and maybe even have a chance of dying quickly.”
“Of course,” Lenore responded as she stood up slowly, “I wouldn’t want to make anything more difficult than it has to be.”
Nabooru turned around, and dropped down to her knees. Lenore came behind her and placed her hands on her face.
“Are you ready?” Lenore asked calmly.
“Yes...” Nabooru answered, squeezing her eyes shut and sending tears dropping down her cheeks, “I’m ready.”
Snap.
Nabooru’s body crumbled back into Lenore’s arms, and she gently laid the Gerudo’s body down on the floor, “So there is some honor amongst thieves after all,” Lenore whispered.
Lenore backed away from the body, she spun around and ran towards the door, ripping it open. When she exited she walked through the guards’ card game, and then tripped on one of their feet.
“Hey!” One shouted, “Watch where you’re going to clumsy brat!”
Lenore scrambled to her feet and took off down the hall. Behind her the guards saw through the doors as they closed Nabooru laying flat on her back. They quickly jumped to their feet and rushed into her chamber. Moments later Lenore her terrible screams and cries from the end of the hall. One of the guards burst out of the double doors and began pursuit of Lenore, who had already been given a good head start.
The hallway didn’t seem as long when Lenore ran, it wasn’t long until she was back out into the sunlight. She looked to the sky, praying the Kaepora Gaebora would come to her rescue. In the sun’s harsh glare, Lenore spotted a dot of black coming closer. It was him! Kaepora swooped down on to the ledge, and Lenore jumped onto his back.
“Go!” She screamed urgently just as the guard in pursuit emerged into the sunlight. Kaepora took flight as fast as he could.
“She killed Nabooru!” The guard shouted with a tear stained face.
From the people below gasps and bewildered screams were heard. The guard on the ledge hurled her halberd at Kaepora, but a halberd was not made like a spear. It fell short and shattered as it bounced down the ledges of the fortress.
Lenore breathed heavily as she watched the fortress and it’s occupants shrink into the distance, “My God... I don’t know if that was the easiest or the hardest.”
“Why do you say that?” Kaepora asked.
“She surrendered. She knew I was coming for her, and she said she would go quietly if I let her finish this will or letter or whatever that she had been working on. I let her finish, and then she let me kill her.”
“Interesting... very interesting,” Kaepora said, “What now?”
“Now I go home and finish Saria’s grave. Then I rent a horse and cart, and then I start to head over there tonight,” Lenore responded, “I meet Link there in the morning, I dig the grave, I put her in the coffin, I put up the tombstone, I make the flowers look pretty, then I leave, and then I finish all this madness. Who’s tomorrow again?”
“The Princess Zelda,” Kaepora frowned.
“You’ve got to be kidding me...”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you the entire time for that one,” Kaepora smiled comfortingly, “I’ll take you straight to her room. You won’t even have to worry about security. When will you be done with all this funeral business?”
“Late afternoon, I suppose. I have to be there to lower the coffin and fill up the grave.”
“Alright then, I’ll start towards the forest tomorrow afternoon, and wait at the entrance for you,” Kaepora nodded.

Lenore loaded up the cart and readied the horse. She went over what she was supposed to bring in her head, shovel, tombstone, flowers, ropes, coffin. It was all there. She set a jug of water and a satchel of bread and cheese in the driver’s seat, and threw the horse feed into the back.
Getting the coffin had been a hassle. She forgot to warn Samuel, the man she purchased coffins from, that she needed a child’s coffin. She was supposed to tell him at least a day in advance and because of that she had to pay extra to buy one of the coffins that he had on display in the shop.
Lenore groaned as she climbed into the seat of the cart and Kaepora watched her from the perch upon her home. She had taken a nap in the afternoon after finishing the grave, and now as she was ready to leave, the sun was going down. Her and Kaepora said there goodbyes and Lenore snapped the reins, and the black and white horse to trotted forth. Out of the graveyard, out of Kakariko village, and into Hyrule field.
The stars were beautiful that night.

The sun breached the horizon coloring the sky with orange and pink. A slight fog rose up with the morning chill, and dew clung to everything. Lenore chewed on her breakfast of bread and cheese as the cart rolled underneath a short tunnel, and then across a bridge. Link saw sitting at the end of the bridge inside another short tunnel. His back was leaning up against the inside of the tunnel, and his eyes were closed.
Lenore climbed out of the cart and approached Link, “Excuse me sir?” She called as she crept closer, “Link?” She kneeled down next to him and placed and hand on his shoulder. He jerked violently under her touch and his eyes shot open. Lenore also jumped back from him, her eyes wide, “I-I’m sorry I woke you, Link...”
Link relaxed and rubbed his face with his hands, “I’m sorry I slept, Lenore,” He said, looking up with a tired smile. Lenore stood up and offered her hand down to him. He took it and she pulled him to his feet.
“Here, climb in and show me where to go,” Lenore said, hoping back into the cart and motioning the second seat to him.
Link did as he was asked and Lenore snapped the reins, pulling them through the last tunnel and into the peacefully quiet Kokiri Forest.
“Hungry?” Lenore asked, motioning to the bread and cheese in the satchel.
“No thank you...” Link said politely, “Over there,” He pointed to a small round house on the right side of the path a ways ahead. Lenore pulled the cart up in front of it, and unhitched the horse, tying him to the fence next to a stream and setting out some feed next to him.
“First, we need to get the body into the coffin,” Lenore instructed, “Is it well in tact?”
“Yes. Apparently, her neck was snapped... but she was laying in her bed when we found her. She was tucked in and everything and there was a cloth over her eyes. I don’t know how someone could do that. I know the Kokiri aren’t capable of murder... I just wish I knew who did it... and why...”
Lenore tried to remain calm, “Has the body begun to decompose?”
“Not really,” Link said absent-mindedly.
“Let’s get the body inside the coffin...” Lenore said walking to the back of the cart with Link following. They both took and end of the casket and entered Saria’s home. The stench was not bad at all, Lenore looked at the body and saw it wrapped tightly in blankets, “Are we taking the blankets off?” Lenore asked nervously.
“Yes. She’s already in her best dress. We thought maybe we could show her to all the Kokiri before we lower her. They want to see her again,” Link nodded.
They set the coffin down next to the bed and begun to unwrap the blankets from around her tiny body. Lenore began crying when Saria’s face was revealed, but she tried not to make a sound to alert Link to it. They carefully set her body in the coffin and slid the lid back on. Saria looked absolutely beautiful in a long green dress with a bow in her hair, and another one wrapped around the waist of the dress.
“Are you crying, Lenore?” Link asked with surprise.
“Oh... yes... It m-makes me upset when I have t-to bury children....” Lenore tried to smile to prove she wasn’t bothered but it was unconvincing.
“Sorry to be so blunt... but... that seems so strange,” Link said.
Before he could continue further, Lenore picked up her end of the casket, “We need to get this outside, and I need to start digging, Link.”

Lenore dug the grave, and set up the tombstone. She fixed up the flowers, and prepared the ropes on the coffin so it could be lowered in easily. She stood uneasily a few paces back from the ceremony, watching Saria’s friends cry, and listening to them speak about her. Lenore cried to, but nobody saw it. She cried the most when the casket was opened.
After that, she wiped her eyes and helped Link lower the coffin into the ground. The Kokiri nearly covered the coffin with little tiny flowers, throwing them in as they bowed there heads and gave respectful silence.
The Kokiri lingered around, hugging each other, and weeping as they spoke. As they began to leave, some of them thanked Lenore for her work, and told her that the tombstone was beautiful. She cried even harder, but as the last Kokiri returned to his house, it began to rain, masking her tears. Link stayed outside and helped Lenore fill up the grave in the rain.
“Would you like to come to my house and wait until the rain stops before you leave for home?” Link shouted over the rain.
“Sure.” Lenore called, “Which house is yours?”
Link pointed the only tree house home, “That one.”
“Can you help me get the horse under the tree? I need to get the cart.” Lenore yelled.
“Sure.”
Link quickly tied the horse to the ladder under his house. The mare was grateful to be out of the rain. Meanwhile Lenore struggled to push the cart as her feet slid through the mud. She slipped and fell forward onto the ground and onto her elbows. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her by the arm and another one on her waist, and Link pulled her up to her feet. Not knowing what to say, she turned back to the cart and began pushing again, this time, with Link at her side helping her. Soon the cart was drying under the tree next to the horse.
They climbed up the ladder and Link drew back the curtain that served as a door to his home. Lenore entered and Link followed behind her.
“Would you like a towel? Well... actually, it’s a blanket, but it’s dry... would you like it?”
“As long as you don’t mind getting mud on it...” Lenore said, shivering.
“No, I’ve been needing to go wash some clothes in the river anyway,” Link said, pulling it out of a drawer and unfolding it for her. He draped it over her shoulders, and Lenore turned red. Link tried to make conversation, “So... you seem pretty young to be in charge of virtually the only graveyard in Kakariko...”
“I’m seventeen...” Lenore said, sitting down on a chair at a small table in the center of the room.
“How does a seventeen year old get all these responsibilities?” Link asked sitting down in the chair next to her.
“It’s in my blood. My father was Dampé, the keeper of Kakariko’s graveyard. He’s died a long time ago. I just do what he did,” Lenore shrugged.
Link tried not to be shocked. He remember very clearly Dampé and his haggard appearance. And this beautiful girl was that man’s daughter? How odd. Link cleared his throat, “You look absolutely nothing like him...”
“You’ve met him?”
“Yes... when I was a child,” Link nodded.
“Oh, I don’t remember ever seeing a kid in the graveyard except for me,” Lenore said looking away.
The two sat in silence. It wasn’t exactly an awkward silence, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. They simply listened to the their own thoughts, as well as the drumming of rain on the house.
“I just don’t understand...” Link said out of the blue, “What could’ve happened to her... She was just walking home. No one comes in the forest except the Kokiri, and I. Why did she die? If she had tripped and someone broken it that way, how could she have ended up in her bed? I saw her the next morning. I was the first to discover her. She was lying in bed. How... how did it happen...?” Tears began to fall, “Who would come into the forest, and harm one of us like that? The children here never even leave the forest. Why?”
Lenore sat frozen, her face completely stone. She wanted to help him. She wanted to ease his pain. But what if he didn’t understand? Her body began quivering as she imagine how Link must have felt when he walked into Saria’s room, kneeled down next to her bed, and realized that Saria was never going to wake up again. Why did she have to hurt him like this? The first person that seemed interested in even just being friends, and she had begun to destroy him before knowing him. Her heart ached terribly as she watched him cry.
Lenore suddenly jumped up. She fell on to her knees in front of Link and grabbed him the by shoulders, causing his head to jerk upward and look her in the eyes. She began crying madly as she started speaking, “Link, oh God, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Link. I didn’t know, I didn’t know you, I didn’t know. I had to, I had to do it. You don’t understand.”
“What are you talking about?” Link spouted, pulling back frantically.
“You don’t even know about the other ones, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru, Rauru, I killed them, I killed all of them!” Lenore gasped hysterically, she put her hands on either side of Link’s face and moved in close, “I killed Saria, Link.” Link froze, and Lenore leaned forward and quickly kissed his shocked lips.
She scrambled to get to her feet and dashed out of the room. Lenore jumped down into the muddy ground below after only descending two ladder rungs. She reached into her cart, grabbing one of the muddy shovels, and took off running heading towards the forest exit.
She was absolutely drenched and shaking when she reached the tunnel, and inside, Kaepora Gaebora was waiting, as promised.
“Lenore? Are you alright?” He asked, placing both wings on her shoulders and staring into her wide, frightened eyes.
“We have to go!” Lenore screamed, “We have to go to the castle now before he gets there first!” Lenore crawled onto Kaepora’s back, and looked towards Link’s house. She saw, through the curtain of rain, the horse that she had left there galloping through the storm with Link riding him, “Go! Now!”
Kaepora did as he was told, he beat his wings ferociously as he took off into the rain-filled sky deciding to ask questions later. When he was up in the air, he called back, “What happened Lenore?!”
“I told him! Now he knows that Zelda is next and he’s going to the castle!” Lenore shouted, “We have to get there first and kill her before he can find her!”
Lenore looked back as they were soaring across Hyrule Field, but the rain was too covering, and she couldn’t see where Link had gone. She hugged herself close to Kaepora and gripped his neck tightly, her already wet face still streaking with tears.

“Where is she?!” Lenore screamed to Kaepora as they flew from window to window of the castle, looking for Zelda.
“I’ve no idea! This castle is so large!” Kaepora cried.
“Let’s look in the higher towers!”
Kaepora flapped doggedly in the rain, going from window to window. Finally, in one of the center towers, Lenore spotted a woman in her room, “There! Get closer to that window!” Lenore pointed. Kaepora did so, and inside was a beautiful young woman in a light blue dress, with flowing blonde hair. She was sitting with her back to the window, drinking tea, “Is that her?” Lenore asked, the pounding rain masking their voices from the woman inside.
“Yes! That must be!” Kaepora exclaimed, “I’ll land on the windowsill.”
Kaepora’s heavy frame barely fit in the window, but he was able to squeeze inside. If he stayed on the windowsill, Lenore would have trouble getting off, so instead he dropped onto the stone floor inside the chamber. Immediately Lenore slid off his back, her wet feet landed on the floor with a slapping sound, and she stood menacingly, gripping her shovel with both hands until her knuckles turned white.
Zelda gasped, leapt up, and whirled around, she knocked over the table and sent saucers and cups crashing onto the floor, “Kaepora! What’s going on?!”
“I’m sorry Zelda,” Kaepora said, lifting a wing and bowing, “It would take quite some time to explain what’s going on to you, and we just don’t have it. Please, just understand that you have to die right now. All will be clear to you later.”
“What!” Zelda screamed backing up against a bookshelf, “Have you gone mad, Kaepora?”
“Shut up!” Lenore cried forcefully, “Just listen to him and hold still!” Lenore said with tears in her eyes.
Lenore started forward, and Zelda grabbed at the tall bookshelf behind her pulling it forward. As the bookshelf toppled, Zelda scurried out of the way. Lenore squeaked and held up her shovel, she caught the force of the blow on her fingers and the handle, but still tumbled back into Kaepora.
Lenore shot back up, “Kaepora! Block the door!” There was only one exit in the room, and the great owl hopped in front of it.
Zelda shrieked and quickly grabbed a candlestick, holding it in front of her like a weapon as she backed further and further against the wall. Lenore approached her slowly, in two quick swings she hit the candlestick with the end of her shovel, and then swung the head of the shovel around and smacked Zelda in the face. The Princess crumpled to the ground, laying her face against the cold hard stone of the floor. She looked up at Lenore as everything began to appear blurry. Zelda could just make out Lenore lifting up the shovel high above her, before she fell into unconsciousness.
Suddenly, the door flung open and hit Kaepora in the back, with a quick glance behind him, he saw a flash of a green tunic. The great owl did what was natural and threw his great girth backwards, slamming the door once again, “Lenore!” He called as the shovel was raised, “Help!” Lenore paused and looked behind her at Kaepora pushing his weight against the door, “It’s Link!”
Lenore look behind her and then glanced at the helpless Princess on the floor. With a frustrated growl she spun around and ran towards the door, pushing against it next to Kaepora, “Link!” Lenore cried desperately, wanting to explain everything to him in the one breath, but there was no time.
“Lenore!” Link growled ramming his shoulder into the door, “Don’t you dare touch her!” The Hero of Time took a running sprint towards the door and slammed into it, knocking both Kaepora and Lenore backwards. As he rushed into the room, he stopped, frozen as he saw the great owl climbing back on to his feet, “Kaepora?!”
“Link please,” Kaepora said in a coaxing voice, taken advantage of the shocked pause, “If we don’t kill Zelda, this whole world could collapse! Without her dead, her incarnation can’t be born! And if that happens, there will be no Seventh Sage to protect this world when a new evil arrives, and let me assure you, Link, it’s arriving soon, and the current Sages would’ve been helpless to stop it. Even the new Sages will be helpless unless Zelda dies!”
“No!” Link exclaimed, not even letting Kaepora’s words sink in, “I don’t believe you!”
“Link! When have I ever lied to you? When have I ever mislead you?” Kaepora shouted urgently as he began losing all calm words.
“I don’t care!” Link shouted, “I love her!”
Lenore’s shovel struck Link in the side of the head, not hard enough to knock him down, but hard enough to throw him against the wall, “You love her?” Lenore seethed, both hands clenching her shovel, “You should be used to doing what you’re supposed to do! Aren’t you used to letting them jerk you around?! Well they’re doing it again, so get over it!” Lenore screamed violent, “Either she dies now, or we all die later!”
Link drew his sword from his sheath angrily and Kaepora and Lenore backed away. Lenore held her shovel up as if it was a sword and stood in a tense position, “Link don’t make me fight you, please don’t make me fight you.”
The hero charged forward, striking at Lenore. She blocked it with the head of her shovel and backed away even more.
“Link, please don’t hurt her!” Kaepora called desperately.
“Why do you care so much about another one of the Goddess' tools?” Link cried and Lenore shrunk back at the stinging comment, “You don’t care about me!”
“Of course I care about you Link! But Lenore is like my daughter! She is my daughter! I raised her. She’s everything to me, she’s only doing what she has to do!” Kaepora said, trying to make Link understand, “She’s just like you Link, she’s just doing what she was destined for! She can’t help it!”
Link paused and stepped back, rethinking his actions. Kaepora was right, Lenore was like him. Of course Lenore didn't want to do this, but what other choice did she have? What was he doing? He had no right to stop her...
Across the room, Zelda began to stir, “Link...? Is that... you?”
“Yes, Zelda,” Link choked, “It’s me...”
“Please, help me...”
“I don’t know if I can, Zelda...” He said, his eyes filling up with tears.
“But... I love you...” Zelda mewled
Link was struck, hard. She loved him? But, she said that she didn't want to marry him... He didn't care what Kaepora had to say. He couldn't abandon Zelda.
Link clenched his sword with two hands and lunged forward, slashing at Lenore. She held up her shovel, but his sword hit the handle, slicing the wood in two. A gurgled gasp escaped Lenore’s lips as she stumbled backwards. She looked down at the long gash running diagonally across her chest, and the stream of blood dripping onto the floor. Her eyes grew wide and frightened as she looked back up at Link, who’s face showed the same shock as hers, and then over to Kaepora who stood absolutely stunned. She stumbled back even further and tripped, hitting her back against the hard stone, but that was the least of her pains now.
“Lenore...” Kaepora creaked with great sadness in his voice as he crept forward, “Lenore...?” When he reached her side he leaned down and placed a wing upon her shoulder, “Lenore...?” He choked again, staring into her wide open eyes.
“Kaepora...?” Lenore whimper, turning her head towards him, “I don’t want to die, Kaepora.” She sobbed weakly.
“Shh... It’s okay, Lenore,” Kaepora said, crying, as he pet her hair with his great wing, “I love you so much my little one...”
“I love you too, Kaepora...”
Link’s sword clattered against the floor. He collapsed forward on to his knees and watched Lenore dying, while Kaepora stood over her. He didn’t know that the big owl was able to cry, “Lenore, I’m sorry... I’m so sorry,” Was all he could whisper but his apology was too quiet to be heard. Link climbed to his feet only to fall back down a few steps later at Lenore’s side, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Link cried.
“Link... I wish things could have been different...” Lenore lamented as her eyelids dropped, and her eyes clouded over.
Kaepora and Link, bowed their heads, shedding their tears. After a few moments of silence, Kaepora whispered, “Link, please wrap Lenore in a blanket, so that I may take her home,” He did not raise his head to look at Link.
Link stood on shaky legs and grabbed the table cloth from the table that had been knocked over. He wrapped Lenore gently inside of it and tied a knot at the top so that Kaepora could hold it in his beak.

“I will not tell you what to do, Link,” Kaepora said, still avoiding Link’s gaze, “But you know what the right thing is. If you care about Hyrule, and any of those whose blood was spilt for it, you’ll do the right thing,” Kaepora leaned down and clutched the blanket in his beak. He hopped upon the windowsill, and took off into the storming sky.
Link turned slowly and walked towards Zelda who had just begun to weakly sit up. It felt like the longest journey of his life. In his mind he saw Saria, running to his home, coming to greet him in the morning, he saw Darunia standing in front of Dodongo’s cavern, smiling at Link in surprise as he entered. He saw Ruto giggling girlishly as she swam towards him in the water, he saw Impa standing with her arms crossed and at the end of the courtyard. He saw Nabooru standing and turning to face him with a bewildered look, he saw Rauru nodding at him in the Sacred Realm.
He kneeled down and helped Zelda to a sitting position. She fell against his chest, clinging weakly to him, and Link held tightly to her, leaning his cheek against the top of her head.
“Why... why did they want to kill me?” Zelda asked softly.
“I don’t know...” Link lied and gripped her tighter.
“But they said they had too... Did Kaepora say, she was destined?”
“I don’t know...” Was all Link could force out.
“Do you think it’s the truth?” Zelda asked, pulling away and looking back at Link.
“Maybe...”
“Then maybe I’m supposed to die,” Zelda said, searching Link’s eyes for the rest of the story that he was keeping from her.
“Maybe you were,” Link mumbled, “But we’ll face whatever consequences occur from this together, alright?” Link smiled weakly, putting his hands on Zelda shoulders.
“Alright.” Zelda nodded innocently and let Link pull her back close to him, "You know... I didn't mean what I said..."
"What?"
"When I told you I agreed with my father, that I didn't want to be with you, I lied," Zelda confessed, "I only said that because I didn't want to upset my father, and I didn't know what else to do. I was a coward."
"It's okay Zelda, that doesn't matter now," Link closed his eyes.
"You're not holding anything back from me, are you Link?" Zelda asked cautiously, "Is there anything you're not telling me?"
Link paused, and then forced out, "No, Zelda. I'm not."
He felt terribly lying to her, but if he told her the truth, she may try and fix what he ruined. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn't bear to do the right thing. He sat there, holding her, and prayed that he could handle whatever would happen next.